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Arar v. Ashcroft et al Historic Case

At a Glance

Date Filed:

January 22, 2004

Current Status

On June 14, 2010, the Supreme Court denied Mr. Arar's petition for certiorari to review the Second Circuit Court of Appeals' en banc decision dismissing his case, ending his case in U.S. courts. Mr. Arar has continued his efforts to seek accountability for those complicit in his torture; in September 2015, Canada announced charges against Syrian intelligence officer Col. George Salloum, who tortured Mr. Arar.

Counsel:

Co-Counsel

DLA Piper US LLP

Client(s)

Maher Arar

January 4, 2008

Case Description

Arar v. Ashcroft was a federal lawsuit challenging the rendition to torture of Canadian citizen Maher Arar by U.S. government officials. Mr. Arar was detained at JFK airport in September 2002 while on his way home to Canada from abroad. He was interrogated, detained for two weeks, denied access to a court and meaningful access to counsel, and secretly rendered to Syria where he was tortured and held in a grave-like underground cell for over ten months. He was never charged with a crime.

Mr. Arar’s lawsuit was brought in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Attorney General John Ashcroft, Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and several U.S. immigration officials for violating his constitutional right to due process and the Torture Victim Protection Act. Mr. Arar alleged that the officials violated his Fifth Amendment rights by conspiring to subject him to arbitrary detention and torture in Syria and by blocking his access to court to ensure that he could not stop them.

The U.S. government official defendants challenged the suit, claiming that even if Mr. Arar’s allegations were true, he had no judicial remedy. The U.S. government also asked that the court dismiss the case, arguing it would expose “state secrets” and harm national security. In 2006, Judge Trager dismissed Mr. Arar’s claims, finding that “national security” and “foreign policy” considerations prevented him from holding U.S. officials liable. Mr. Arar appealed this decision to a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed the dismissal 2-1 in June 2008, agreeing with the lower court that Mr. Arar’s claims would interfere with national security.

In an extremely rare move, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided that Mr. Arar’s appeal would be reheard by the full active court in December 2008. On November 2, 2009, the full Court of Appeals dismissed the case 7-4, concluding that in cases of extraordinary rendition, it is not the court’s role to decide whether U.S. officials can be held accountable, because of foreign policy, national security, and secrecy concerns. In a strongly worded dissent, Judge Guido Calabresi wrote, “I believe that when the history of this distinguished court is written, today’s majority decision will be viewed with dismay.”

The RCMP announces it will attempt to extradite Syrian intelligence officer Col. George Salloum to be tried for the torture of Maher Arar. The news follows a 2005 complaint launched with the RCMP by Mr. Arar seeking Salloum’s prosecution. Mr. Arar’s wife, Monia Mazigh, reads a statement on his behalf: "It is my hope that Col. George Salloum will be found alive, arrested, and will be extradited to Canada to face Canadian justice…Since I launched my complaint in 2005, I gave the RCMP investigating team, during the many interviews I had with them, the information they needed to advance their investigation.” Mazigh says, "People wouldn't even admit he was tortured. This is a clear message to my husband — and to whoever denied that torture happened — that this is real and that you cannot commit torture [with] impunity. It is symbolic, but at the same time, it is personal."

In an article in the Canadian Press, John Kiriakou says “I can tell you that a lot of people inside the CIA objected to this.” He continues: “I remember hearing some of the conversations – that, ‘This is the wrong guy, this is a mistake.’ And then one officer in particular (was) saying, ‘No, this is not the wrong guy. We’re going to take him.’ She was certain that we had the right guy. That Maher Arar was an al-Qaeda whatever-he-was – a facilitator, or whatever – and we were moving forward with it.”

Press Release

Members of Congress write to Attorney General Michael Mukasey requesting he appoint outside special counsel to investigate and prosecute any crimes committed by U.S. officials in sending Mr. Arar to Syria

July 10, 2008

Members of Congress write to Attorney General Michael Mukasey requesting he appoint outside special counsel to investigate and prosecute any crimes committed by U.S. officials in sending Mr. Arar to Syria

Press Release

Related Files

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Homeland Security issues its report on the actions of U.S. immigration officials surrounding the decision to send Maher Arar to Syria. Inspector General (IG) Richard Skinner testifies before subcommittees of the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees to answer questions about the report.

Related Files

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologizes to Mr. Arar and his family for their “terrible ordeal” and announces payment of $10 million in compensation as part of the agreement to settle his case against the Canadian government.

January 4, 2007

Defendants file response to motion for judicial notice with Second Circuit Court of Appeals

January 4, 2007

Defendants file response to motion for judicial notice with Second Circuit Court of Appeals

Related Files

Canadian Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar, established by Canadian government, issues its report

September 18, 2006

Canadian Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar, established by Canadian government, issues its report

The Commissioner concludes "categorically that there is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offence or that his activities constitute a threat to the security of Canada." Canadian investigators, with U.S. cooperation, exhaustively investigated Mr. Arar, and found no information that could implicate Mr. Arar in terrorist activities. The Commission also finds no evidence that Canadian officials acquiesced in the U.S. decision to detain and remove Mr. Arar to Syria, but that it is very likely that the U.S. relied on inaccurate and unfair information about Mr. Arar that was provided by Canadian officials.

CCR and co-counsel DLA Piper US LLP file a motion requesting that they be permitted to immediately appeal Mr. Arar's "rendition" claims to the Second Circuit without waiting for resolution of his U.S. detention claim.

Related Files

Judge David Trager of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismisses Mr. Arar's claims against U.S. government officials for "rendering" him to Syria to be tortured and arbitrarily detained.